Cherished Moments
by TheNinjaTurkey
Summary: One cold, winter Sunday, Sawako and Kazehaya go on a date. They walk through their Hokkaido town, enjoying each other's company and moving their relationship steadily forward. Oneshot.


Sawako was awoken by the morning sun shining through her bedroom window. She forced her eyes open, squinting in protest at the start of the new day. She forced herself to sit up, staring with bewilderment at her surroundings. She stood up, still groggy from the previous night's sleep. Walking to the mirror that hung on her closet door, she stared blankly at her own reflection. Her eyes were still nearly shut with post sleep fatigue, her hair was frazzled and her face showed much discontent.

 _Why am I so tired?_ She wondered to herself. _Did I not sleep well last night?_

Sawako slowly started to make her bed, the first thing she did every morning. Just as she finished, she heard her phone chime. She looked across the room to see it sitting on her desk, the blue notification light blinking every so often. She walked over and picked it up. She jumped in surprise after realizing who had texted her.

Sender: Kazehaya Shota

Subject: Today!

Good morning, Kuronuma!

I just thought I would remind

you about today. You can

be awfully forgetful

sometimes, after all.

Let's meet at the usual

place!

The message was from Kazehaya. Although she had been dating him for a few months now, Sawako still sometimes forgot that their relationship wasn't a dream, so she still would often get flustered when he sent a message that she wasn't expecting.

Recipient: Kazehaya Shota

Subject: Re: Today!

Good morning, Kazehaya-kun.

I just woke up. Thank you

for reminding me! I

need to get ready,

but I'll meet you at

the usual place at

9\. See you soon!

Sawako sent the message. She closed her phone and brought it to her heart. The smile on her face was a smile that only Kazehaya could bring out of her. She showed that smile more and more these days.

Sawako suddenly remembered why she was so tired. She was out late the previous night with Kazehaya, Ayane, and Chizuru. They had gone to the local ramen shop to eat, as they often did on Saturday nights. There they joined Ryu, as it was his family's ramen shop, and ate their fill. Afterwards, Sawako and Kazehaya bid farewell to their friends and walked around the town together. This was a tradition that Sawako and her friends had been observing for many weeks now, and Sawako hoped that it would continue. She liked going to the ramen shop every week and then walking around with Kazehaya. It was all she had ever hoped for in her high school life, to spend time with friends. She would be sure to cherish these memories.

Sawako looked at the clock on her bedroom wall and jumped in surprise.

 _It's nearly 8:30! I need to get going!_

Sawako rushed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She nearly grabbed a yellow summer dress to wear for her date with Kazehaya, but looked outside and saw that it was overcast and probably quite cold. Winter had begun. She instead chose a red winter jacket with long pants. She grabbed a bag and made for the door.

"I'm going!" she called to her parents as she left.

"Have fun!" she heard her mother call.

She was running late, Sawako ran towards the nearest park as fast as she could so as not to make Kazehaya wait. Speaking of traditions, Sawako and Kazehaya started one of their own. Every Sunday, they always try to have a date. It's never anything super fancy, they usually just go on a walk or something, but that was absolutely fine with them both. Sawako is often forgetful when it comes to this new tradition, and is almost always late. Her being late had become a tradition in and of itself.

Sawako approached the park and noticed Kazehaya sitting on the bench that he always waits at. He smiled and gave a wave as he noticed her. She noticed that he was wearing the white knitted hat she had given him at the start of their relationship. He wore it all the time now, whether or not it was cold. She gave him a smile through her exhausted expression. Once Sawako reached the bench, she stopped and put her hands on her knees from the exhaustion of running.

"I'm so sorry I made you wait!" she said.

"Don't worry about it," said Kazehaya playfully, "I'm used to it at this point."

She stood there breathing heavily and Kazehaya motioned for her to sit next to him. She gladly sat down and caught her breath.

Once her breathing returned to normal, Sawako spoke.

"I really am sorry for being late. Did you wait long?"

"Not too long," Kazehaya responded, "I don't mind waiting, really."

"A-Are you sure? I can try to be better about getting up faster in the-"

Kazehaya interrupted her by placing two of his fingers on her lips.

"I'll wait as long as it takes so long as I get to see you."

Sawako jumped in embarrassment as her face slowly filled with red. She loved it when Kazehaya said things like this to her, but such words immediately caused her to blush. She still wasn't quite used to Kazehaya saying such things. Theirs was a slow moving relationship, but they were both absolutely fine with that.

Kazehaya laughed and pointed at Sawako's face.

"Red face!" he said, teasing.

This made Sawako blush even more.

They sat on the bench for a moment, enjoying each other's company and making idle conversation.

After a time, Kazehaya said, "So, I truly enjoy just sitting here with you, but is there anything in particular that you wanted to do today?"

Sawako thought for a moment, bringing her finger to her chin in thought. Suddenly, she thought of something.

"Oh! There's that new café in town, Chizu-chan said she went there with Ryu, and apparently it's really good. Do you want to give that a try?"

Kazehaya stood up and offered his hand to Sawako.

"Sure, it's a place to start," he said with a smile.

Sawako blushed a little at Kazehaya offering her his hand, but this was something that they were used to at this point, so she took it and he helped her up.

They walked through their Hokkaido town hand in hand, passing through the residential district and making their way to the center of town, where the new café was located.

"Seaside Café," said Sawako, reading the sign, "Hopefully this place is as good as Chizu-chan says it is."

They sat down and ordered some drinks. Kazehaya ordered an iced green tea and Sawako an iced coffee. They sat at the café, which had a wonderful view of the ocean, enjoying the atmosphere and talking idly.

"Hey Kuronuma," said Kazehaya.

"Y-Yes?" she responded.

"Do you remember when we first started dating, and you told me that you wished time could move faster?"

"Yes."

"And you said that if more time had passed, our relationship would seem normal."

"Yes."

"Does it seem normal yet?"

Sawako was slightly shocked by this question, and at first didn't know what to say.

 _D-Does he mean that it doesn't seem normal?_ she thought to herself, _D-Does he mean that there's something weird about us?_

Seeing her distress, Kazehaya laughed and patted her head from across the table.

"Not like that," he explained, "I mean have you gotten used to it? Does it not seem like a dream anymore?"

Sawako stopped freaking out when she realized what Kazehaya meant.

"Oh. Well…"

Sawako thought for a moment, deciding how to properly express what she wanted to say.

"Well, I guess I've gotten more used to it now, the reality that we truly are dating is setting in, but I still sometimes forget that it's all real. Just this morning, when you texted me, I was shocked by your message because I had almost forgotten that our relationship wasn't a dream."

Kazehaya gave her a fake, depressed look.

Sawako brought her hand to her mouth and giggled.

"Not like that," she continued, "It's just that at one time dating you seemed so impossible, you seemed so out of reach. I'm sure you know what I mean."

Sawako was referring to the time before they started dating when both of them thought the other had rejected them. Kazehaya asked Sawako if their feelings for each other were different, to which she said yes, and both of them took that as meaning the other did not like them in a romantic way. It really made things leading up to their relationship way more difficult.

"Yeah, I certainly do. As sad as we both were at the time, it's kind of funny to look back on now," said Kazehaya, "We both had feelings for each other, but just misinterpreted what we were saying."

"I'm glad it all worked out, though," Sawako said with a smile.

"Yeah, me too," said Kazehaya, "That period was very painful for us both, but it was worth it in the end."

Kazehaya gave her a smile as he said this.

At this, Sawako blushed. She looked away from Kazehaya in embarrassment. Sawako may have gotten more comfortable with Kazehaya since the start of their relationship, but she still didn't know how to respond when he said things like this.

"Red face!" he said once again.

Sawako could not help but laugh and playfully pushed him away.

Sawako and Kazehaya spent some time enjoying the new café before heading out to continue their day.

They walked for a while, traversing the many streets of their hometown, talking and walking without any real destination in mind. Many of their Sundays played out this way. Some might call this boring, but Kazehaya and Sawako didn't want to be doing anything else. Enjoying each other's company in this simple way was all that they had ever wanted.

In their aimless wandering, they eventually came to a long stretch of sidewalk that cut through a field. The path seemed to go on endlessly, continuing far into the distance. This was the path that Kazehaya, Sawako, and many other students from Kitahoro High School would take to and from school. They walked this path quietly, hand in hand. Sawako relished the privilege of being able to hold Kazehaya's hand like this. His warm hand comforted and guided her. As long as she was holding this hand, she could be happy no matter where she was.

Hours had passed, and the sun was already starting to set. Sawako was surprised, she didn't realize that time had been passing so quickly. She would need to go home soon to finish some schoolwork and to eat dinner with her family. It made her sad that her day with Kazehaya was drawing to a close.

Kazehaya seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"You need to go home soon, don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Sawako sadly, "I didn't get nearly enough homework done as early as I should have, and I need to be home for dinner."

"Yeah, same here," said Kazehaya, "We both need to be better about homework. That's the bad thing about going out with friends all the time. I mean, I wouldn't trade you or our friends for anything, but it certainly takes a toll on homework time."

Sawako nodded in agreement, "Well, it will soon be Christmas break. We won't have to worry about homework then."

Kazehaya perked up, realizing that she was right.

"Yeah! I almost forgot about that! We didn't really spend much time together last Christmas break, but we have to this year!"

Sawako looked into the distance, her mind filled with happy memories.

"Yeah, I guess we didn't spend a lot of time together back then. But the time we did spend together was really great. Going to the shrine, the time when I couldn't make it to the class Christmas party but you waited for me. That's when you gave me this."

Sawako pulled out her phone and showed him the charm that was attached to it. She beamed brightly as she showed it to him, for it was one of her most treasured items that Kazehaya had given her.

"You didn't give it to me until recently," said Kazehaya, "But seeing that you made it for me around Christmas time makes this my treasured item from you." Kazehaya pointed at the white knitted hat atop his head, which Sawako had made for him.

"You don't have to wear it all the time you know," said Sawako with a laugh, "I made it for you during the winter, so I thought you would just wear it when it's cold."

"Well, it's starting to get cold isn't it?" said Kazehaya, "Maybe I won't wear it during the summer, when it gets hot, but I'll wear it as much as I possibly can."

Sawako blushed a little and turned her head quickly forward. She was a little embarrassed at this, but she was extremely happy that Kazehaya liked her present so much.

"I-I'm glad you like it," she said.

"Of course I do! I'm glad you like my present too!" Kazehaya said.

Sawako smiled and turned to look at Kazehaya once again.

"We'll have to spend lots of time together over Christmas break. Especially on Christmas. And we'll have to go to the shrine again! Like we did last year!"

"Definitely!" said Kazehaya, "I'm excited!"

They continued to walk and talk of things they wanted to do during Christmas break until they made it to Sawako's house.

They walked up to Sawako's house, slowing their pace as they approached as if to extend their time together.

"I imagine you have to go, don't you?" said Kazehaya.

"Yeah," said Sawako with a sad expression.

"What homework do you still have to do?" asked Kazehaya.

"English," replied Sawako.

They stood for a moment, neither wanting to leave. Sawako suddenly had an idea.

"Wait a minute! What homework do you have left, Kazehaya-kun?"

"Well…"

Kazehaya looked up into the sky, pondering what exactly he still hadn't done.

"English, I think."

Sawako's eyes widened with excitement.

"Wait here! I'll be right back!" she said as she ran inside.

Before Kazehaya could say anything, the door was already shut.

A few moments later, Sawako emerged and ran towards Kazehaya.

"Kazehaya-kun!" she said, "Do you want to do your homework with me?"

Kazehaya was stunned. Sawako was inviting him into her house, something he had only had the privilege of doing a handful of times. Sawako waited for his answer, a look of anticipation on her face.

When Kazehaya didn't answer due to the mild shock, Sawako continued.

"I asked my parents, and they say they're fine with it, they'll even treat you to dinner, if that's ok."

Kazehaya snapped out of his stupor and finally responded.

"Yes! I'd love to! Let me just go home to ask my parents and grab my homework!"

Kazehaya ran off without another word, too excited to say anything else.

When he was gone, Sawako turned and put her hands on the side of her face in shock.

 _I just invited him inside! I invited him to dinner! We'll probably do our homework in my room too! What have I done? What am I going to do?_

She had acted almost without thinking, she hadn't thought of what inviting Kazehaya in would entail. Kazehaya would be subjected to conversation with her parents, worst of all her Dad, who still hadn't quite understood the fact that Sawako had a boyfriend, not to mention that Kazehaya would see her room!

 _MY ROOM!_

Sawako quickly ran upstairs. She didn't have much time. Kazehaya would be here in a few minutes, and she had to make sure her room was in a presentable state.

Sometime later, Sawako heard a knock at the door. She ran to get it, only to find that her mom had already opened it. Kazehaya stood outside, looking slightly flustered.

"Sawako! Your darling boyfriend is here!" said Sawako's mom in a teasing tone.

"Mom!" Sawako protested.

Sawako's father stood next to her mom, holding back tears. Sawako was unsure what her dad thought of her dating Kazehaya. He seemed happy, but then again…

"My little Sawako's boyfriend. BOYFRIEND! She's growing up so fast!" said Sawako's father, trying his best not to cry.

"Come dear," said Sawako's mom to her dad, "Let's let them do their homework. Study hard!"

Sawako's mom pulled her dad into another room, much to his protest.

When they were finally gone, Sawako and Kazehaya stood awkwardly in the entranceway.

Neither spoke for a moment, unsure of how to proceed.

Finally, Sawako spoke.

"T-The dinner table is probably full, so would you like to do homework in my room?"

Kazehaya jumped and said awkwardly, "Y-Yeah. That would be fine."

Sawako blushed and nervously approached Kazehaya. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

They reached her bedroom door, Sawako nervously pushed it open. She hoped that he would not find it too messy.

The door opened and they walked in.

"Well. This is my room. I don't think you've seen it before."

"No, I haven't, this certainly is a first," Kazehaya looked around the room, taking everything in, "It's so clean!"

 _HE THINKS IT'S CLEAN!_

They both stood awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"It's nice though," said Kazehaya to break the silence, "It's a very Kuronuma-like room."

He smiled at her to calm her nerves.

Sawako didn't know what he meant by that exactly, but she smiled and offered him a chair.

"There's only one desk," she began, "So I don't know where we're going to study."

"It's alright," said Kazehaya, "I'll use my math textbook for something to write on. You can have your desk."

Sawako took a book from one of her bookcases.

"No, I'll use this," she said, "If I used the desk I wouldn't be able to face you."

Sawako gave him a smile. Kazehaya thought that it was sweet of her to give up using a desk just so she could face him while they were doing homework.

They did their homework together silently, speaking up every once in a while to ask the other questions. They studied the foreign phrases and lettering with tenacity until they had finished everything.

"That should be it then," said Kazehaya, "That's all the homework I have to do."

"Me too," responded Sawako, "I'm glad we got to do this together."

Kazehaya smiled, "Me too! We should do this more often!"

Sawako blushed at the idea of letting Kazehaya into her room so much, but the idea made her extremely happy.

"We should. I would like that."

"It's a deal then!" said Kazehaya, "We'll end our dates doing homework, if there's any to do."

"There probably will be," said Sawako, "Since we always spend so much time with Ryu-kun, Chizu-chan and Ayane-chan"

Sawako giggled at this, mostly out of happiness for having so many wonderful friends.

Kazehaya smiled.

"You've changed a lot, haven't you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean you've made so many new friends, helped the class on multiple occasions, you smile a lot more, laugh a lot more. I'm so happy for you!"

Sawako smiled and placed her hand over his.

"It's all thanks to you," she said.

"No, I might have given you a bit of a push, but you did this all on your own."

"It still wouldn't have happened if you didn't push me."

"Then I'm glad I pushed you."

They both smiled, their foreheads touched with glee.

"Sawako! Kazehaya-kun!"

It was Sawako's mother.

They both jumped in surprise, not expecting their tender moment to be so suddenly interrupted.

"Oh! Dinner is probably ready!" said Sawako, "Let's go!"

Sawako and Kazehaya had a delicious dinner with Sawako's parents. Sawako's mom mostly asked Kazehaya embarrassing questions, while her dad sat there trying not to cry. They finished shortly and gave their thanks.

"Thank you very much, Kuronuma-san!"

Kazehaya gave a deep bow to Sawako's mother in gratitude.

"What's this?" said Sawako's mom, teasing, "No need to be so formal! You're dating my daughter, after all. How about this, as long as you treat her right, I'll make you and Sawako dinner anytime!"

"I will, thank you Kuronuma-san!"

Sawako was shocked at Kazehaya's formality, but she was happy that he was trying so hard to please her parents.

"Run along now," said Sawako's mom, "You two lovebirds go and enjoy the rest of the evening, I'll be here comforting my husband. He's always so emotional, his little girl having a boyfriend is just too much for him to handle!"

Sawako and Kazehaya left before things got too out of hand.

It was past 9 at night. Sawako and Kazehaya walked down the quiet street of their neighborhood. It was quite cold, they could tell that winter had already arrived.

"I need to go home soon," said Kazehaya with a sad smile, "We do have school in the morning."

"I know," said Sawako, "So do I, my dad will get worried if I'm out at night for too long."

"I'm sad that our date is over, but at least I'll get to see you at school!" said Kazehaya cheerfully.

Sawako smiled at him, "Yeah! We'll eat lunch together like we always do."

"I'm not looking forward to math class though," said Kazehaya with a dejected look, "That class is a pain."

Sawako smiled, "It's not too bad. I'll help you if you need it."

"Please do."

Kazehaya's phone went off.

"Sorry Kuronuma, I have to take this."

He answered.

"Hello? Yes. Yeah. Ok. Be there soon. Bye."

He turned to Sawako with a sad expression.

"That was my dad. He's asking me to come home, so I should go."

Sawako nodded, "I understand. Thank you for today, I had a lot of fun."

Kazehaya stepped forward, gently wrapping his arms around Sawako. She fell into it, and they stood there in a tight embrace.

"Me too," he said.

They stood there for a long while, enjoying the warmth and feeling of closeness that the embrace brought.

Sawako, her eyes closed, felt something cold touch her nose. She opened her eyes. To her surprise, small flurries of snow were falling from the sky. They fell gently, slowly starting to blanket the ground with their coat of white.

"Snow," she said.

"The first snow of the year," said Kazehaya, smiling.

They looked into each other's eyes, staring for what seemed like an eternity. Their faces were close together, their noses touching. Their bodies reacted without cue, without control. Sawako closed her eyes and moved closer. Both of them, through some ancient instinct, knew exactly what to do. The next thing Sawako felt was the warmth of Kazehaya's lips against hers. They stood this way, taking in the moment. They stood for a time, neither caring how long their first kiss would last. They eventually pulled away, their faces colored with shades of red, breath condensing into the cold, winter air. They stood, still embraced, staring into the other's eyes. Slowly they pulled away, hearts beating rapidly.

Sawako bid Kazehaya goodbye, telling him that she would meet him in the morning so they could walk to school together.

She began to walk the short distance back to her house, her stomach filled with a warm sensation and her body shaking with delight. She opened the door to her house, allowing the warm interior to thaw her frozen body.

"How was your date, dear?" asked her mom.

"Good," said Sawako, "Good."

Sawako made her way to her bedroom in a surreal haze. She could not get Kazehaya out of her mind. His warm embrace, his messy hair, the feeling of his lips.

She touched her lips with her fingers, remembering how her kiss with Kazehaya felt.

She would be sure to remember this day.

She would be sure to cherish these memories.

She would be sure to remember their kiss.

And she would be sure to do it again.


End file.
